Low-water alarm.



No. 692,488. Patented Feb. 4, I902.

0. H. SHUTTLEWORTH.

LOW WATER ALARM.

(Application filed Mar. 15, 1900.)

(No Model.)

J Z Q11: 0 I

. i z, w 1

fizz/02(0)" U/Qa/"kdJZSkaZZZaZ/WZZ Urrnn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H.- SHUTTLEWORTH, OF CORUNNA, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO WALTER S. JONES, OF CORUNNA, MICHIGAN.

LOW-WATER ALARM.

SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,488, dated February 4, 1902. Application filed March 15, 1900. Serial No. 8,737. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. SHUTTLE: WORTH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Oorunna, in the county of Shiawassee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Low-Water Alarms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to that class of lowwater alarms in which low water in a steamboiler is automatically indicated by the blowing of a whistle actuated by the escape of steam.

The invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, and mainly relates to having the valve which controls the escape of steam when the water becomes low held and guided between two levers cooperating with the valve-stem in a manner to seat or unseat the valve, all as more fully hereinafter described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is an elevation of the low-water alarm with parts in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the lower end of the valve-rod. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a slightlymodifled form of construction.

A is a steam-tube or valve-case mounted on top of steam-space of boiler in any suitable manner, preferably by means of a screwthreaded pipe-section or fitting B, which screws in from the under side,passing through the boiler-shell, and is preferably secured in position by a nut a.

The pipe-section or fitting B has two ears I), between which the compound levers C D are pivotally secured, as shown. The lever-D has a long arm, to the end of which is secured a weighted float E, and its short end is adapted to bear against the long arm of the lever C.

Mounted upon the steam-tube or valvecase is the steam-whistle S, the stem A of which is made hollow to form the upper part of the steam-tube.

F is a valve in the steam-tube, and G is the valve-seat, against which this valve is adaptted to seat from below. The valve F is secured upon a valve-rod H, which is made in sections adjustably connected together and extends freely through the whole length of the steam-tube, being preferably guided in the upper end thereof.

Mounted upon the steam-tube is a lever I, fulcrumed to one side of the steam-tube and pivotally connected at I with the section I of the upper end of the valve-rod. This lever may have one or two arms, as shown in Fig. 1 or 3. If two arms, one is arranged to receive a slidingly-ad j ustable weight J, so arranged as to tend to draw the valve-rod H upwardly, while the other arm K is adapted to be operated by a chain, rope, or pull-rod L, secured to its end in such manner as to be capable of pushing the rod downward. The lower end of the valve-rod is connected to the short arm of the lever G, preferably in a detachable manneras, for instance, by forming a vertical slot M in the valve-rod, into which the lever O loosely engages, as shown in Fig. 2.

The parts being constructed and arranged as shown and described, they are intended to operate asfollows: Referring to the construction as shown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the float E is connected to the long arm of the lever by a chain, and if the height of the wa* ter is suflicient to uphold the float and maintain a slack in the chain the valve F is kept closed by the action of the weight J, which pulls the valve-rod upwardly. At a predetermined point when the water becomes low in the boiler the float E, however, will operate as a weight and, pulling upon the chain, actuate the compound lever in a manner to pull the valve-rod downwardly, and as the leverage is very great it is sufficient to overcome the weight J and open the valve F, which permits steam to pass out through the openings d and blow the whistle. The weight J, however, may be dispensed with by securing the float rigidly to the lever D, as shown in Fig. 3. In this construction the buoyancy of the float when submerged in the water in the boiler (as it willbe during normal conditions) exerts an upward pressure, which causes the lever D to impinge against the lower end 6 of the valve-rod, and thus keep the valve to its seat. \Vith low water in the boiler, however, the float acts again as a weight and pulls the rod down, as before. A principal and important function of the lever K is, however, that it provides a means to permit the engineer at all times to ascertain the operative condition of the device, as by pulling on the lever K, through the rope L or other connection, he can open the valve and permit the whistle to blow and also set the whole mechanism in operation, so that he is not only sure that the valve does not stick, but the movement of the levers frees the pivots from possible incrustations and otherimpediments to the proper operation. Without such a provision it has been found that low-water alarms are delusive and unreliable as a safety device.

The construction described is composed of few and simple parts and can be easily manufactured and readily secured in position on any boiler.

What I claim as my invention is-- 1. In a low-water alarm, the combination with a boiler, a pipe-section passing through the boiler-shell and communicating with the steam-space therein, a valve-case upon the exterior of the boiler communicating and in alinement with said pipe-section, an interior downwardly-facing valve-seat therein, a tube leading upwardly from and in alinement with the valve-case, and a whistle connected therewith; of a compound lever pivoted to the pipe-section within the boiler, a straight rod leading upwardly from said lever through the pipe-section, valve-case, and tube, a valve on this rod adapted to close upwardly against said seat, a hand-lever for depressing said rod and manually opening the valve, and a float rigidly but adj ustably connected with one arm of the lever within the boiler and adapted to be submerged when the valve is closed and the water is at its normal height, all as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a low-water alarm, the combination with the boiler, a pipe-section passing through the boiler-shell and communicating with the steam-space therein, a valve-case upon the I exterior of the boiler communicating and in alinement with said pipe-section, an interior downwardly-facing valve-seat therein, a tube leading upwardly from and in alinement with the valve-case, and a whistle connected therewith; of a compound lever pivoted to the pipe-section within the boiler, a straight rod leading upwardly from the lever through the pipe-section, valve-case and tube, said rod being in sections adj ustably connected, a valve on this rod adapted to close upwardly against said seat, a hand-lever for depressing said rod and manually opening the valve, and a float rigidly but adjustably connected with the lever within the boiler and adapted to be submerged when the valve is closed and the water-level is at its normal height, all as and.

for the purpose described.

3. In a low-water alarm, the combination with the boiler, steam-whistle, and a pi pe-section passing through the shell of the boiler and a valve-case in alinement with it and connecting said whistle with the steam-space of the boiler, of a valve-rod extending through said pipe-section and valve-case, and carrying a downwardly-opening valve seated below said whistle and controlling the admission of steam thereto, a lever exteriorly mounted above said valve-rod and adapted to open the valve and admit steam to the whistle by manually depressing said lever, a compound lever pivoted to the pipe-section within the boiler, below the valve-rod, and a float rigidly but adjustably connected with said lever within the boiler and adapted to be submerged when the water is at its normal height and close the valve by raising the le ver and valve-rod.

4. In a low-water alarm, the combination with a boiler, a pipe-section passing through the shell of the boiler, a valve-case in alinement with said pipe-section and a whistle carried by the valve-case upon the exterior of the boiler and communicating therethrough with the steam-space of the boiler, of a valverod extending through said pipe-section and valve-case, and carrying a downwardly-opening valve seated below said whistle and controlling the admission of steam thereto, a lever pivotally connected with the upper end of said valve-rod and adapted to open said valve by manually depressing said lever, two levers pivotally secured to the pipe-section within the boiler, one below the other, the upper lever having a short arm engaging with the lower end of the valve-rod and the lower one of said levers having a short arm extend-1 ing beneath the long arm of the upper one of said levers and operating the same, and a long arm adapted to bear against the lower end of the valve-rod and having a weighted float rigidly secured to its end.

5. In a low-water alarm, the combination with a boiler, a pipe-section passing through the boiler-shell, a valve-case mounted upon said pipe-section in alinement therewith, a whistle carried by the valve-case upon the exterior of the boiler and a valve-rod passing through said pipesection and valve=case carry ing a valve controlling the admission of steam to said whistle,of two levers pivotally mounted to the pipe-section within the boiler one below the other, the upper lever having a short arm connected to the lower end of the valve-rod and a lower lever having a short arm adapted to bear against the long arm of the upper le ver, and a long arm carrying a float.

6. In a low-water alarm, the combination with a'boiler, a pipe-section passing through the boiler-shell, and a valve-case carrying a steam-whistle mounted upon said pipe-section in alinement therewith, of a valve-rod extending through said valve-case and pipe-section, and carrying a downwardly-opening valve controlling the admission of steam from the steam-space of the boiler into the whistle, a hand-lever mounted upon the whistle and rod pivotally connected to the upper end of the valve-rod to open the valve by manually depressing said lever, and two levers pivoted to the pipe-section within the boiler, one below the other, the upper lever having a short arm engaging with the lower end of the valve-rod and the lower lever having a short arm adapted to bear against the long arm of the upper lever and a weighted float rigidly secured to the long arm of said lever. 10

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES H. SHUTTLEWORTII. Witnesses:

W. J. PARKER, J. J. PEAoooK. 

